Judith Slaying Holofernes

Judith Slaying Holofernes Wiki Commons

Considered today to be one of the most accomplished painters in the Baroque generation after Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi’s skill in displayed in her 1620 work, Judith Beheading Holofernes. Raised in an era where female artists were not accepted as painters, their acceptance into guilds non-existent, Gentileschi was trained by her father, a follower of Caravaggio. This influence is most exhibited in her large-scale subjects with strong light and darks. Her best-known image, Judith Beheading Holofernes, depicts the decapitation of Assyrian general, Holofernes by Judith, a beautiful widow. Gentileschi depicted this subject six different times

Judith’s figure takes on an almost stiff stance with her arms held at straight angles out in front of her, both wielding a sword and cutting into the neck of Holofernes. Her maid stands at her left, holding down the arms of the flailing general. Holofernes himself lies in the bottom left of the picture plane, his body foreshortened perfectly and blood spurting out of his neck.  Together the three figures form a triangle of sorts, illuminated by a strong, unidentified light coming from the lower left-hand side. The light is extremely Caravaggio-esque, as is the non-existent background. Overall, the skill that is displayed in the rendering of the figures, especially as exhibited in the proportions, truly sets Gentileschi a part from her contemporaries, making her one of the best Baroque painters.